SallyKoslow.com

The Author

Writing books is my passion, but I continue to love contributing articles to essay collections, magazines, and websites. Here are some samples of my recent work. –Sally

The New York TimesThe Opinionator: Writing Fiction and Nonfiction
When I wrote my second novel, I biked in New York Cityís Riverside Park and plopped myself down where my character died in order to take in what she saw as her life ebbed. When I wrote my first nonfiction book, in one of more than 200 interviews, I grilled a woman about why she quit a sought-after job in Washington to live in Paris. Click here »

Family CircleThe New Girls
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, I found a surprising upside to the illness. Click here »

MoreLove Lessons From Second Wives
Years after tying the knot, Sally Koslow finds the secrets to long-lasting happiness in her friends' new marriages. Click here »

Friends, Interrupted
Old friendships withering? New online pals not exactly available for coffee? Hereís how to make friends when youíve outgrown the sandbox, the dorm and your kidsí playgroup. Click here »

O, the Oprah MagazineThe Dog Lovers
The house was always bursting with love—of the face-licking, ear tousling, "who's a good girl?" variety. What would the two of them do when it was…just the two of them? Sally Koslow confronts her empty nest. Click here »

The Sisterhood of the Vanishing Paystub
The best advice Iíve ever gotten about personal economics was from a friend, and it had nothing to do with derivatives, debt/equity swaps or the Cayman Islands. Click here »

Good HousekeepingTriathlon of Hope
When it really counted, my sons were a dream team.
Click here »

Bookreporter.comEverything is Material  and Sometimes It's Red and Green
Having grown up celebrating Hanukkah, Sally shares her favorite pastime for December 24th and 25th, and explains how she came to celebrate, and eventually write about, the Christmas season. Click here »

The New Queen of Broadcast
You know her as the gutsy newscaster who refused to report on Paris Hilton's nanosecond jail stay. Here, Mira Brzezinski, cohost of MSNBC's hit political show Morning Joe, gives us the scoop we haven't yet heard. Click here »

Writing a Book Is Like Giving Birth to an Elephant
Here's my first blog for More.com.Click here »

Amazon Can Make an Author Weep
Another blog from More.com.Click here »

Fitness7 Habits of Highly Resilient Women
In 2002, I wrote an article for Fitness Magazine on how to learn to bounce back from anything. From time to time, I reread it and remind myself of these steps. You might benefit as much from the suggestions, based on research with psychologists, as I do. Here’s the Cliff Notes version: Click here »

Reader's DigestSecrets to Unshakeable Confidence: Act As Though You Expect the Best
Imagine two people of equal skill applying for a job. Would you pick the person who is less confident? Ever? Quite simply, a positive sense of self can transform your life. Click here »

Better Homes and GardensDaring Do
Remember that I'll-try-anything spirit you had as a girl? It's still there, waiting to be set free. Click here »

Make writing a habit, Try to write every day, even for only 10 minutes.

Have fun with nouns and verbs.

Think of adjectives and adverbs as cayenne pepper. Use sparingly. “Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs,” William Strunk and E.B. White wrote in their venerated Elements of Style. “The adjective hasn’t been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.”

Check spelling and details. Google is a gift to writers, but don’t forget your dictionary.

In fiction and in dialogue, picture a scene as a movie, and take notes.

Don’t read your work only on a computer—print it out. Try switching typefaces to see it in a fresh way.

My writing workshop, pictured above, has been a valuable sounding board for all my novels. That's me in the red top and, to my left in a blue shirt, Charles Salzberg, our fearless leader and the author of Swann's Last Song. The woman in pink is Lisa Cohen, author of After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive.

This year I've had the honor of being asked to join Tall Poppy Writers, a group of talented writers, all women, from everywhere in the United States, who've banded together to support one another's work. Mostly, we "meet" on Facebook in a private group, but in October we got together for a writers' retreat in Manhattan. Since that's my hometown, I hosted the group for cocktails. Here we are in my dining room. Our founder, Ann Garvin, is in the bottom row wearing a red poppy.